


Lunch Date

by epersonae



Series: Aftermath [22]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angus is Baby!Magcretia, Gen, Implied Taagnus and Magcretia, Soccer practice, Uncomfortable family meals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 08:11:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11985759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epersonae/pseuds/epersonae
Summary: Angus arranges a conversation. Taako orders a salad. Lucretia doesn't apologize.





	Lunch Date

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by a tumblr post suggesting that Lucretia was probably more of a parent to Angus than Taako was, and by other people's reactions to that. Honestly I think Angus would very much like all his parental figures to get along.

“Ma’am, your lunch appointment is here.” Alex poked their head into Lucretia’s office. She looked up from her work and nodded.

“Show him in.”

Looking at him was always a sort of double vision: the cleverest and most persistent of her Seekers on the one hand, and her own gawky sweet boy on the other. And now she could start to see the outline of the young man in his face as he came into adolescence.

“Angus, dear.”

“Mom.”

She came around from the desk and took his arm.

“Where are we going to lunch today?”

He looked oddly nervous.

“Oh, just the usual. I know you like the sandwiches. You don’t have a meeting right after lunch, do you?”

“Actually, I think my afternoon is clear for once. Would you like to go for a walk after?”

“Maybe. I just….” He shrugged. “I’ve got soccer at 2:30, but maybe we could, y’know, depending….”

She raised an eyebrow at him, and he looked down at his feet, but she decided not to push the issue.

 

They had just been seated when she heard a familiar voice ring out across the crowded restaurant.

“Ango McDango! How’s my magic boy?”

Then she noticed Angus twisting his napkin between his fingers as his eyes bounced between her face and Taako, and it struck her that there were three seats at the table, and….

“Angus, honey, what did you do?”

He was on the verge of stammering out something when Taako got to the table. Instead he looked up, away from her. 

“Hi, Mr. Taako, I’m good, how are you?”

She could feel Taako’s stare boring into her back.

“Aggie, what’s this?” he said; even from behind her, she could tell he was turning to leave. Angus stood, the chair scraping loudly on the floor.The restaurant fell silent, and all Lucretia could hear was the sound of her own heart beating a wild refrain in her eardrums. 

“Please don't go, Mr. Taako.”

“Oh, Taako’s very good out here.”

“Sir. I need you to stay.”

She looked down at her place setting, focusing on keeping her hands steady.

“This was his idea,” she said. “I didn’t know anything about it.”

“Give me one reason to stay, both of you, and make it snappy.”

Angus let out a long breath through his nose.

“You’re my family, Mr. Taako, and Mom, I mean Lucretia is also my family, and...I guess that’s it. Oh, and I’m pretty good at Hold Person and Zone of Truth, so don’t test me.”

She looked up at Angus, his face set and stern. She twisted around to look at Taako.

“Don’t even think about Zone of Truthing me, little man,” he said, sliding into the empty chair. “Not even Merle gets to pull that shit.”

Then the noise of the restaurant returned to normal, as all the patrons figured that they weren’t going to get any more loud drama from famous people.

“Mr. Taako, Mom—”

Taako raised a hand. 

“Not yet, kiddo. Let cha’boy order a little something first, I'm going to need sustenance to get through this. They have anything good in this place?”

Lucretia said, “I like the—”

“Didn't actually ask you, Madame Director.” He waved down a server, whom he then bombarded with questions before finally giving an elaborate order for, essentially, a cheese sandwich. Lucretia started to order her usual, but again Taako interrupted. “The lady will have, mmmmmmm, this salad, but…” And then even more substitutions and customizations, until it was an entirely different salad, which actually sounded really good, but didn’t match the menu at all. 

He started to do the same thing to Angus, but the kid piped up, “No, Mr. Taako, you don’t need to do that,” and he ordered the same sandwich as always, with a glass of iced tea.

When the server left, there was a beat of awkward silence. 

Before Angus could try again to do whatever he was intending, Lucretia asked Taako how things were going at the school and for a little while they talked about work and organizing, about Ren and Avi: business. 

Angus twirled his fork between his fingers, his eyes flicking back and forth between them like their conversation was a tennis match.

Then the food arrived, and for a few moments the three of them ate quietly. “Mom.” He was looking at her so seriously, and as usual when he called her that, Taako’s nostrils flared just a touch, and the set of his mouth hardened. 

“What exactly are you expecting to happen, dear?” she asked. “I have apologized to Taako on several occasions and if he chooses not to forgive, it's not as though you can make him.”

At that, Taako took a long noisy breath and looked up at the ceiling. 

“Ango,” he said, and she could tell he was working very hard to keep his voice low and even, “I have nightmares, most nights, and I wake up and I can't remember if my sister is real or if I dreamed her. Or if all those people in Glamour Springs….”

“Mom didn't mean—”

And in Taako's hand, a tiny flame flickers to life. 

“Don't you  _ dare _ take her side, kid. She used you too, don't forget that.”

Angus huffed. 

“I'm not taking her side, sir.” He looked at Lucretia. “I don't like being lied to either.” She blanched and looked down at her salad to avoid their gazes. “Nobody's taking sides here. We want you to….” He sighed and his little shoulders sank. 

Both Lucretia and Taako said “we?” at the same time. 

Taako continued, “Did Maggie put you up to this?”

“No! I haven't talked to Mr. Magnus about it. But I know he feels the same way” — Taako snorted while Lucretia sighed — “and so does Mr. Merle.”

“Oh Angus dear, this is more than you should have to deal with.” She put her hand over his. 

“She's got that right.” He glared at her. “Look, kid, I can't help it if those two are big softies, and they did pretty good, considering. I mean, Merle got a couple of kids, and Magnus….” He looked her dead in the eyes. “You gave Magnus a wife, Lucy, how about that? That’s pretty fucking cold, almost as cold as giving your kid to some old man to bring up.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose.

“What do you want out of me, Taako? I have explained myself over and over. I have admitted that I was wrong.”

“Have you, though, Lucretia?”

She took a deep breath, sat up straight, and squared her shoulders.

“You know what, Taako, I wasn’t wrong. I did a terrible thing, a horrible thing. I hurt you, and for that I will always be sorry, all of my life. We were the best of friends, once, and I ruined that. But I wasn’t wrong about the relics, and I wasn’t wrong about needing to do something. So I did something. And you know what? It worked. And if you want to hate me forever, because I couldn’t stick to Lup and Barry’s plan, that’s fine. I can’t stop you.” She pushed back her chair, and she looked at Angus. “I’m sorry this didn’t work out the way you wanted, dear. It was very thoughtful of you to try. I’ll go pay for lunch, and you and Taako can enjoy the rest of your food.”

“Oh hell no!” said Taako, standing before she had even put her napkin on the table. “You don’t get to give your little speech and then run off to your little office and keep being Miss Self-righteous-woe-is-me. I don’t think so. You know why your plan fucking worked?” Around them, the restaurant went silent again, but this time, none of the three noticed.

“Enlighten me.”

Taako pointed at Angus, whose face was frozen, his eyes wide.

“This kiddo, right here, figured out what the fuck you were doing, and came with us to find Junior, that little ace up your sleeve, so that we could help you.  _ Your _ plan? Just as shitty as the crazy shit my sis and her boyfriend came up with. The third option? That actually saved the world? Who the fuck came up with that?”

Her shoulders dropped.

“That’s fucking right, Luce. Your good buddy Taako came up with that shit.” His voice softened slightly. “But here’s the thing, I guess. You sent us to Refuge, while we still” — he waved his hands — “and without that, without Paloma and Istus? I don’t think even I could’ve come up with it. Took this whole stupid world, people I would’ve given up on as dust….” There were tears in his eyes.

“Yeah.” They both looked at Angus.

“It worked because we worked  _ together _ . Finally.”

“I know.”

“Now can you both sit the fuck down and finish your lunch?” said Angus. 

She blinked back tears as she sat. “Yes, of course.”

Taako snorted but followed suit. 

 

They sat together in the bleachers watching Angus and the other kids go through their drills. 

“Rounders, I think?” said Taako. “No, wait: Rebound.”

Lucretia arched an eyebrow. 

“You were trying to remember the name of that game from Tessaralia.”

“I suppose so. He's a better coach now.”

“Yup.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “Hey, I'm sorry about earlier, the shit I said…”

“No you're not.”

“Ok, you're right. I guess I'm not.” He leaned forward, looking out at Magnus coaxing along one of the other players. “Are you sleeping with him?”

“Are you?”

Taako snort-laughed and slapped her on the back. 

“Good one, Lucy. Touchè.”

Angus looked up from kicking the ball back and forth with another kid and waved at them. He was grinning, and she couldn't help but smile. She and Taako both waved back. 

“You chucklefucks made a good kid,” he said. 

“He is something, isn't he? And he thinks the world of you.”

“He's got good taste. Kinda like his dad, I guess.”

And they laughed together easily for the first time in so long. It wasn't forgiveness, and maybe it never would be, but for now it was enough. 


End file.
